Chickens Goudan is one of many interesting ornamental breeds with a rich history that has preserved its working purpose.
This breed is known and attractive not only for its unusual appearance, which makes it the center of gravity of views on any compound, but tender white meat, which is combined with medium egg production and precocity.
Chickens were bred to produce tender meat in France, the breed is named after Gudan Prefecture, where it has been successfully divorced since 1850.
Brabant chickens, Krevkers, La Fresh, Bress chickens, Caumont, Gournay, Le Mans, Caux, Merleaux, Mentes breeds participated in the breed selection. To improve the breed, blood of Dorking, Bram, and the Dutch White-tailed bird was added later.
By 1870, the breed became known outside of France, first of all in Germany (most of the purebred European breeds are still being brought to us from this country, you can also import purebred Gudans from Denmark).
During World War II, purebred chickens throughout Europe almost disappeared, so the breed had to be rebuilt after the war.
Now it is rather a decorative breed with the ability to use it as a universal egg and meat, although with average egg production, tasty meat is of great value.
General description of the breed Gudan
Gudan is a breed of meat type, it is medium-sized birds with a cylindrical body.
A distinctive feature is the lush crest on the head and the comb in the form of a moth. The crest must be large, from long feathers, fall back and not fit too tightly to the head of the bird.
The head is large, with a hemispherical swelling on the neck - the base of the tuft. Beak curved, short.
The moth comb is formed by two equal plates with medium-sized teeth, the color is juicy, bright red. The beard consists of a part located under the beak, and two parts that form the whiskers. The neck is of medium length with a lush collar, it must be strong and strong.
The body is elongated, in the shape of a cylinder, but wide, slightly elevated, and the body should be almost perfectly horizontal. The chest is full and wide, the belly is rounded. On the back should be fluffy lumbar plumage.
The wings are medium in size, tight to the body. Plumage without pillows, soft. The tail is lush, with slightly curved feathers.
Breeding breed belongs to the class of meat and egg chickens. You can learn about their characteristics on our website.In order to see how to do the incubator with your own hands on the video, go here.
The legs are partially covered with plumage, strong. Short, broadly set metatarsus. On the paw, five fingers, the fifth finger and the fourth fingers should be well separated from each other, the fifth finger slightly raised.
Allowable colors: white, black and white and blue. Black and white are most appreciated, with black predominating in the color of the rooster, the hens are painted more evenly.
With a white color, it is permissible for a rooster to have a small admixture of smetan color in the crest and beard. When the color is blue, the color should be uniform, white spots are allowed in the crest, the beard and crest of the rooster can be velvety black, in general, roosters are a few tones darker than chickens.
In Russia, sometimes under the guise of Gudanov, chickens with a different form of a crest are offered; such birds can no longer be classified as pure Gudans, this is a crossbreed. Pay attention to the correctness of the color, the overall composition of the bird. Gudanov has a very recognizable horizontal silhouette, so breed chickens can be easily distinguished.
Defects: first of all a weak narrow body, also disqualifying signs - poor plumage, wrong position of the crest and beard, wrong color (there are yellow and white feathers in the beard and on the lower back - this is not acceptable).
Features
The peculiarity of the breed, because of which it was taken in the knowledgeable sense of food in France - tender white meat. Gudan's carcass is well muscled, the birds are squat, stocky and strong.
Gudan have lively temperament, very mobile, therefore, it will look great on a free range in any farmstead. People are friendly, trusting, have a calm disposition, are not prone to conflicts.
Chickens are used as ornamental, but their meat origin allows for quick fattening of chickens and raising chickens of this breed for meat. Due to their smaller size, dwarf gudany are suitable only as a decorative breed.
A photo
Now you have the opportunity to see these wonderful chickens in the photo. The first two photographed 2 beautiful individuals of this breed.
And this is how a cock looks in its best form. His beauty does not express in words:
And this is already a female. Comparing these photos, you see the difference between a rooster and a kurts.
And of course, the most familiar setting for birds is your own aviary:
Cultivation and maintenance
Climate is a big problem in keeping chickens in Russian conditions.
Better chickens of this breed take root in central Russia and warmer areas, in harsh conditions with long winters birds need a warm chicken coop.
Judging by the opinions of experienced pipelines to successfully breed Goudan in our country is quite realistic, but this requires additional efforts to ensure comfortable conditions - the breed has been bred in temperate climate with regard to France.
Many poultry farmers engaged in breeding (attempts to breed purebred Gudanov have been undertaken since the 80s and continue in our time), they note that the survival rate of young and adult birds is not too high.
You should also show increased concern for the luxurious plumage Gudan. The litter in the hen house should be sufficiently dense and always clean.otherwise the bird can quickly take on an untidy and not very presentable look.
For birds of white color, captive or walking contents are preferable: in close space, any bright plumage quickly becomes untidy and begins to fall out.
In food unpretentious, features in the rearing of young. But it should be borne in mind that in the autumn and winter periods it is necessary to strengthen the diet of birds with nutrients. In chickens, the incubation instinct is moderately developed; in the dwarf variety, it is worse.
Specifications
Gudan - medium-sized chickens, rooster weight - 2.5-3 kg, hens - 2-2.5 kg. Egg production - 160 eggs in the first year, 130 - in the second, incubation egg weight - from 53 g, egg color - white.
The dwarf variety has a lower weight: about 1.1 kg for the rooster and 0.9 kg for the chicken.
Analogs
Gudany is practically not divorced in Russia, there are some farms that deal with this breed in Ukraine, where the climate allows the Gudans to feel comfortable.
But if you want to buy meat or a universal breed with an interesting appearance, there are not so few alternative options:
- In many farms in our country there are chickens of Cochinkhin meat breed.
This ancient breed was introduced to Europe from China and served as the basis for many meat and egg and meat breeds. Plus kokhinhinov - weight up to 3.5 kg with egg production of 120-140 eggs and unusual appearance, seemingly thick due to the lush plumage of the paw and bulk tuft immediately attract attention.
- Another popular breed, suitable for breeding for meat, getting eggs and just as a decoration for the farmstead - Brama.
All varieties of Brahma were obtained by crossing Cochinquins with other beef breeds; Brahmans from Cochinchins learned recognizable feathered paws, the main difference being the large body weight (up to 5.45 kg in roosters).
- Mechelen cuckoo (it is also called Meklin, Mehlen, Malin and many other variations of the original name) - meat breed with original spotted plumage, bred in Belgium, but breeding used meat breeds from China and the United States, so the weight of roosters is up to 5 kg, the breed is precocious, with soft white meat.
Probably the biggest fowl is the Jersey giant hen. Find out what sizes it can reach!The address //selo.guru/sadovodstvo/vinograd/vinograd-v-podmoskove.html is an article where you can find out the grape varieties for the Moscow region.
Gudan - rare and unusual in appearance breed, which will decorate any compound. Its undoubted plus is tender meat, and a rather high egg-laying rate allows you to keep Gudanov as a universal breed.
Cons: some whimsical and unsuitability to the harsh conditions of the Russian winters, requiring the equipment of the coop heating system, and the difficulty to find in Russia.
